This invention relates to a method for cleaning fish cages and to a fish cage adapted for use in said method.
During recent years, a substantial fish-farming industry has grown up, in which fish, confined within mesh cages, are reared in a manner analogous to that employed with farm animals. The cages usually used in fish farms are cuboidal with an open top. One severe problem encountered when using such cuboidal cages is that, after a few weeks use, the mesh sides and base of the cages become fouled and must be cleaned. At present such cleaning is effected by fixing a net around the outside of the cage to prevent fish escaping during the cleaning operation. The mesh panels constituting the sides and bottom of the cage are then removed individually for cleaning. Not only is such a cleaning process laborious (especially since the mesh panels, which may be twelve feet square, are not easy to handle), but it normally requires the provision of a walkway around at least part of the periphery of the cage, and this walkway adds to the cost of the cage.
The present invention seeks to provide a method of cleaning a fish cage, which method is less labour-consuming than that described above and which does not require the provision of a walkway around the cage. The present invention also provides a fish cage for use in said method.